What To Do With Bolillo Rolls and How to Make Them?

It was the Spaniards that introduced the Mexicans to wheat – did you know that? Originally though, bolillo rolls were the creation of the French. Whatever the case and wherever they came from, bolillo rolls are now considered to be one of the most favorite bread for preparing Mexican sandwiches.

So it’s not so uncommon these days to want to know about them with regards to what to eat with them. Along with how to make bolillo from scratch!

What To Do With Bolillo Rolls? 

The bread is soft and crumby from the inside and thin and crispy from the outside. The dough used for preparation can contain lard or butter. Only if you’re a vegetarian should you skip lard because this particular ingredient is the reason why your recipe smells so delicious at the time of baking.

As for what to do with bolillo rolls, here’s the best way for enjoying them. Make this very popular Mexican snack called molettes. Some refried beans, cheese, and salsa. Then toast the bread and devour it with a little more salsa. You can prepare molettes as well as tortas with bolillo bread.

The Mexican sweet bread has earned quite a good reputation internationally, right? In spite of this, bolillos are the most popular Mexican bread. It’s just plain white bread with a soft interior and crusty exterior. And it’s a commonly served item in daily Mexican meals.

The bread is most commonly used as the key ingredient for tortas and molettes. You cut it into slices and serve them with regular meals.

The insides are soft and doughy, called migajón. This you pull out and throw away in the case of making torta. Many of us even use the bread to push the food around on our plates. Leaving the crusty outer layer to get the job done.

This may rank among the most popular Mexican bread. But that doesn’t mean most Mexicans prepare it on their own at home. The majority of the bolillo-roll-eating population in Mexico buy the savory and sweet version of the bread from supermarkets and bakeries.

In that light, how about some relevant information below…

How to Make Bolillo Rolls On Your Own At Home?

If you think it’s a difficult and tedious process, let me prove you wrong for all the right reasons…

Here is the step-by-step guide to preparing bolillo rolls from scratch…

Step 1

You may need a digital kitchen scale for this. Don’t worry, there are plenty of affordable options that don’t cost more than $10. It just doesn’t matter how exact you think your measuring techniques are. The chances are pretty high that you may end up using too much or too little flour. And such a mistake cannot be made when baking bread.

Know that inexact measurements are the enemy. So it’s always a better idea for buying a kitchen scale.

Step 2

You need active dry yeast for the recipe. But this dry yeast has to be fresh. So if your store-bought yeast packets have been in your pantry for too long, then it’s time to proof them. This ensures that the yeast can still come back to life (more on yeast proofing later).

Step 3

Now let’s just assume that the active dry yeast you have in your pantry is in the prime of its life. In that case, it’s time to bring together yeast, flour, salt, and sugar (just a pinch). The sugar, just so you know, is added at this point for activating the yeast. And not for sweetening the bread.

You can blend all of these ingredients using your stand mixer for evenly mixing and distributing everything.

Step 4

The next step is to add warm water. The ideal temperature here should be 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep this particular temperature in mind because anything too cold or too hot tends to ruin the whole dough recipe.

When the temperature is perfect, you get a sticky dough with 70-percent water content.

Step 5

Now you just wait for the whole thing to rise in that warm setting. That’s when it starts to double up in size.

Even if the process takes a longer time, be patient. Many end up placing the dough over the radiator in order to quicken this process. So you too don’t make that mistake, which results in killing the yeast. And that means starting all over again.

Step 6

Moving on to the most important and fun part of preparation. And that is to manually fold. Throughout the hand-folding process, achieving an incredibly elastic dough you should keep in mind. Even if it means taking a long time to get the job done.

Step 7

Now it’s time for forming your bolillos. Then use water to brush or spray them. This helps in making sure the bread rolls do not dry out when the second rise takes form.

More often than not, many neglect this particular step altogether. And that’s a huge mistake because 2 full rises are absolutely essential.

Step 8

Using a sharp knife, make that incision along the middle. This you do for preventing your bolillos from breaking open. You can spray some more water at this point before getting them into the oven.

Step 9

Once in the oven, be mindful about not over-baking the bread. How long to bake actually depends on the size of the bolillo rolls. And also how high or low they are around the middle.

You know the baking is done when a light brown color is noticed. Upon tapping the bottom, they ought to sound hollow. You can even check the internal temperature. Is it between 195 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit? If yes, then know that these are perfectly made, fresh bolillo rolls.

Step 10

But don’t eat them just yet. Let the freshly baked bread sit for around 10 minutes. So all the steam trapped inside redistributes rather than immediately evaporating completely.

Bolillo Rolls – The End

Once baked, you should avoid storing them. No wonder bakeries in Mexico prepare this bread all day round. Because it tastes the best when served fresh. Due to the lack of emulsifiers, the bread tends to get stale after just a few hours only. So have it soon to savor the softness inside and crunchiness outside.

But in case you have leftovers and want to store these, then do so in a plastic bag. And store outside at room temperature. Then when you’re ready for them, spray or brush them with water. Place them inside your oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 minutes.

So that’s all you need to know about what to do with bolillo rolls.